LONDON -- A British broadcast report says British security services thwarted a planned 9/11-style terror attack on Heathrow Airport and Canary Wharf, a financial district of London.

ITV News is reporting that plans to crash planes into the two high-profile targets were among four or five al-Qaida strikes that security chiefs believe they stopped.

ITV also quotes an unidentified government source who indicates that authorities also disrupted training programs for suicide pilots. The report did not say when or where the plots were uncovered, or how close they came to being carried out.

British security officials, Metropolitan Police in London and a spokesman for the prime minister aren't commenting on the report.

KIEV, Ukraine -- A fiery election protest is taking place on a freezing night in Ukraine's capital. Tens of thousands jammed into downtown Kiev on Monday night, denouncing the presidential runoff as a fraud.

They shouted the name of their trailing reformist candidate, Viktor Yushchenko, who flashed them a victory sign. This comes after the election commission said with nearly all the votes counted he was losing to Kremlin-backed Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych.

That result has sparked widespread dismay and anger among the former Soviet republic's 48 million people.

A group of international observers described Sunday's election as severely flawed, with multiple voting reported. One U.S. senator said there was "a concerted and forceful program of election-day fraud and abuse."

One observer said state resources were abused in favor of the prime minister. The observer said there was also an "overwhelming media bias" in the prime minister's favor.

The U.S. State Department is calling on Ukraine's government to investigate the allegations or risk damaged relations with Washington.

State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said Ukrainian officials must "act to ensure an outcome that reflects the will of the Ukrainian people." He said that doesn't mean new elections -- just "quick action" to address concerns.

Otherwise, he said, the United States will consider altering its relationship with Kiev.

ALBION, Neb. -- Much of the community of Albion lined the streets Monday as a hero was laid to rest.

Army 1st Lt. Edward Iwan was buried with full military honors. He was killed Nov. 12 during fighting in Fallujah, Iraq, when his Bradley fighting vehicle was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. Edward IwanEdward Iwan/2004/1117/3925414.jpg/2004/1117/3925414_40X30.jpg/2004/1117/3925414_60X45.jpg/2004/1117/3925414_80X60.jpg/2004/1117/3925414_120X90.jpg/2004/1117/3925414_200X150.jpgEdward Iwan

Hundreds lined the streets through downtown Albion as the funeral procession made its way to the burial site. Most of the town of 2,000 turned out.

"Just a special man to do this for us," Albion resident Bill Noble said of Iwan. "We really respect him an awful lot." Edward Iwan - Albion lines streets/2004/1122/3940995.jpg/2004/1122/3940995_40X30.jpg/2004/1122/3940995_60X45.jpg/2004/1122/3940995_80X60.jpg/2004/1122/3940995_120X90.jpg/2004/1122/3940995_200X150.jpg

"We're very proud of Ed and how he went to serve others," said Theresa Scheffler, from her spot on the parade route.

Friends said Iwan always told them not to worry about him when he went out to perform his missions in Iraq.

"He took his service seriously and he was good at it," said James Weeder. "A good leader, and I'm so proud of him. We're all proud of him. You know he died doing what he loved. What better way to go."

Friends said Iwan also had a great sense of humor. In a letter back home, Iwan once wrote, "There are times I hate how far my job takes me from my friends and family," then jokingly wrote, "but if I had to get a real job I would hate life." Edward Iwan funeral/2004/1122/3940994.jpg/2004/1122/3940994_40X30.jpg/2004/1122/3940994_60X45.jpg/2004/1122/3940994_80X60.jpg/2004/1122/3940994_120X90.jpg/2004/1122/3940994_200X150.jpg

"I was always telling him to settle down and he was always telling me to loosen up," Weeder said.

At the service, someone told a story about how Iwan had tried out for an exclusive Army Special Force unit. He didn't pass the physical exam, but Iwan told friends it was one of the best experiences of his life.

Three other soldiers in Iwan's platoon were killed on Nov. 12 in Fallujah.

time.com
21 November 2004

In Your Face at the CIA
Porter Goss says the CIA needs an overhaul. But is he fixing what's broken  or conducting a purge?

Goss as CIA spy then on Congress - then Bush asked him to run fro CIA - now he's chief and is doing strange things

time.com
29 Nov 2004

Condi Gets Her Shot
She argued the hard-liners' case on Iraq. But the next Secretary of State remains an ideological puzzle

Condoleeza Rice - bush's tutor on foreign affairs as governor of texas, became his national security advisor, and now nominated for Secretary of state
differing views - rebuffed attempts by russion pres to buiild relations then changed by bush's word, etc

time.com
29 Nov 2004

Hiding In Plain Sight
Why Pakistan still isn't aggressively pursuing the ex  Taliban leaders living inside the country

Mullah, veteran Taliban commander in jail

omaha.com
23 Nov 2004

Entitlements driving deficit

WASHINGTON (AP) - How bad is the government's deficit problem? The just-passed $388 billion bill financing almost every federal agency in 2005 could be eliminated, and there would still be red ink.

The massive measure that Congress approved Saturday held the growth of domestic programs to about 1 percent - one of the sparest increases in years, below the rate of inflation. But the legislation did not touch the largest and fastest-growing side of the budget - Social Security, Medicare and other benefits that are paid automatically without a congressional vote on them.

It is increasinly likely that they will need more troops to put down remaining areas of resistance in iraq - fallujah has weakened insurgency, commanders have plans to press offensive in neighborhoods where enemy fighers either have takenn new refuge or were already entrenched

Friday Nov 26
omaha.com

Marine from Falls City dies of injuries received in Iraq

Bomb in Baghdad killed a Nebraska Marine, who died Wednesnesy in a military hospitaL OF wounds on Nov 8

Fri Nov 26
omaha.com

Soldier hurt in Iraq grateful to be home

An Iowa National Guard soldier who was seriously injured in an attack in Iraq last year is happy to be home this holiday season.

Fri Nov 26
Omaha.com

Emerson casino will stay open

EMERSON, Neb. - Had voters decided otherwise, a new casino and truck stop may have been rising by now in a field south of town
And Las Vegas-style video games would be ringing and flashing in a smaller casino on Main Street.
Instead, with the defeat of casino gambling measures Nov. 2, representatives of the Winnebago Tribe were left cutting a ceremonial ribbon last week at its Iron Horse Bar & Casino, which actually opened last summer. The idea was to grab a little publicity and dispel rumors that the business might be closing

Fri Nov 26
omaha.com

High court refuses to delay murder trial

SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. (AP) - The Nebraska Supreme Court on Wednesday denied an appeal that asked for a delay in the trial of the man accused in the slaying and kidnapping of a Gering newspaper carrier.

Instead, the trial of Jeffrey Hessler, 26, of Gering will begin as scheduled Monday.

Meeting on political crisis ends with claim of progress, but no solution reached

KIEV, Ukraine - Nearly three hours of talks involving the two rivals for power in Ukraine's political crisis ended Friday night without resolving the stalemate, although President Leonid Kuchma said progress was made.

Kuchma, who met with the two men who both claim to have won the election to succeed him, said a multilateral working group had been established to find a solution to the dispute that has brought hundreds of thousands of supporters of losing candidate Viktor Yushchenko into the streets to protest what they and Western nations have called seriously flawed balloting.

Fri Nov 26
omaha.com

U.S. to comply with WTO trade sanctions

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration, responding to sanctions imposed against U.S. exports, said Friday it was consulting with Congress on ways to comply with World Trade Organization rules while protecting America's interests.

"We are continuing to work with Congress to bring the U.S. into compliance and we are consulting with our trading partners on these efforts," said Richard Mills, spokesman for U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick. Officials already notified the WTO that "we intend to comply with our international obligations in this matter."

Fri Nov 26
omaha.com

Green Zone is hit in mortar atta

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - A mortar attack killed four employees of a British security firm and wounded 15 others in the Green Zone, a fortified area that houses the U.S. and Iraqi leadership, the company and British officials said Friday.

Britain's Foreign Office said the dead were former Gurkhas, renowned Nepalese soldiers.

"The mortar landed in their camp," said a Foreign Office official on condition of anonymity

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Lying on the hood of the Humvee he used as his bed for much of the war, Brandon Nordhoff would put on his earphones, turn up the volume on his Discman to drown out battlefield noises, and imagine himself at a party back on the Indiana University campus.

Thurs Nov 27
omaha.com

Congress approves short-term funding bill

WASHINGTON - Congress approved a short-term bill Wednesday providing money for much of the federal government through early December after Republicans failed to win agreement to kill a disputed provision standing in the way of a bill that would fund most of the government.

Meeting in a nearly empty chamber on the eve of Thanksgiving, a handful of House members approved what is known as a continuing resolution to keep government agencies open through Dec. 8. The Senate followed suit in identical fashion a short time later.

Thurs NOv 27
omaha.com

Israel approves election monitors

JERUSALEM (AP) - Israel said Wednesday that it will allow international observers to monitor Jan. 9 elections to replace Yasser Arafat as head of the Palestinian Authority, another indication of easing of tensions since Arafat's death.

Since Arafat died Nov. 11, Israel has scaled back military operations and taken other steps to encourage the emergence of a more moderate Palestinian leadership.

Thurs NOv 25
omaha.com

New Darfur battle condemned

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Published Thursday
November 25, 2004

New Darfur battle condemned

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) - The United Nations has condemned the Darfur rebels' capture of a town in western Sudan, saying it violates a cease-fire agreement and further jeopardizes the lives of tens of thousands of uprooted people.

The Sudan Liberation Army, one of two rebel groups in the Darfur region, and government forces should "halt all fighting immediately," U.N. envoy Jan Pronk said late Tuesday, responding to rebel seizure of the town of Tawilla.

Fears of violence rose here in the capital, where tens of thousands of Yushchenko supporters rallied for a third straight day as riot police guarded government buildings.

27 Nov Thurs
Omaha.com

Iraq's rich flee; return unlikely

AMMAN, Jordan - When the kidnappers who had just freed him in return for a $105,000 ransom called his home to ask for an extra $50,000, Shafiq Noori made a decision he'd never expected.

He decided to pack up and leave Iraq, probably for good.

He hired armed guards just long enough to make the necessary arrangements. Then he gathered his wife and children and headed for neighboring Jordan, joining an accelerating flight of wealthy and middle-class Iraqis - a troubling exodus for Iraq's attempts at recovery and democracy

27 Nov Thurs
omaha.com

Nuclear agency today eyes Iran's backpedal

VIENNA, Austria (AP) - As U.N. nuclear watchdogs meet today to discuss Iran, they face Iran's request for a last-minute exception to its promise to stop uranium enrichment activities - not a large demand but one that casts doubt on whether it wants to dispel international suspicion.

Diplomats said Wednesday that Iran had asked the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency for a right to operate about two-dozen centrifuges "for research purposes."

27 Nov Thurs
omaha.com

Pressure kept on insurgents
(- Iraq)

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Thousands of U.S.-led forces squeezed insurgent strongholds in the dusty, lawless towns south of Baghdad on Wednesday as the purported voice of Iraq's most-wanted terrorist blasted Muslim clerics for failing to rally behind the anti-American uprising.

The military offensive - the third in Iraq this month - unfolded with more than 5,000 U.S., British and Iraqi troops hunting insurgents in what a military spokesman described as a series of "precision" raids.

27 Nov Thurs
omaha.com

Russia may not afford to let Ukraine look west

27 Nov Thurs
omaha.com

Rwanda warns Congo of attack

KINSHASA, Congo (AP) - Rwanda has warned it will launch an attack "very soon" on Rwandan Hutu rebels sheltering in eastern Congo, the U.N. mission said Wednesday. The threat raised fears of renewal of one of Africa's most devastating conflicts.

Asked for a deadline for Rwandan action, Rwandan President Paul Kagame told the Associated Press, "It should have been yesterday, not tomorrow."

27 Nov Thurs
omaha.com

Michael Kelly: Courage of troops deserves thanks

On the eve of Thanksgiving, as we buried an Omaha soldier killed in combat, we lowered our flags, our voices and our eyes.

Around town, the star-spangled banner flew at half-staff in memory of Shane Kielion, 23, a Marine corporal and former Omaha South High football captain who died last week in Iraq - on the day his son was born

One came from the urban core of the state's largest city, two from farm-country towns where stoplights are scarce

Out of patriotism and a desire to get a start in life, all three young men enlisted in the U.S. military.

And all ultimately met violent death in the Iraq fighting, adding three more Nebraska native sons to a war toll that ranks among the heaviest borne by any state.

After a week in which Nebraskans buried two fallen soldiers only to learn of another loss, Nebraska ranks fourth among all states in Iraq war deaths relative to population.

28 November Sunday
omaha.com

Latest arrivals transform Norfolk

NORFOLK, Neb. - It's afternoon shift change at this city's largest employerA
frican refugees, among them dozens of Muslim women in head scarves and skirts, enter the refrigerated plant where they'll put on white hard hats and cut meat that the Muslims' religion prohibits them from eating.

Finishing their own eight-hour workday are many Latino immigrants whose roots now have sunk deep enough in this area to have earned them places on the day crew still dominated by whites.

An estimated 1,500 African refugees - primarily from Somalia, but also from other African countries - are changing the face of a community still adjusting to earlier waves of Spanish-speaking laborers.
In some ways, this boyhood home of Johnny Carson isn't as

28 November Sunday
omaha.com

Clean air shift spurs fight

Nebraska environmental officials have proposed revisions to some of the Bush administration's controversial changes in clean-air rules.

Designed to clarify the new federal rules, the state changes also may serve to restore some of the environmental protection that critics say has been lost by Bush's policies.

28 November Sunday
omaha.com

Iowa pays tribute to its fallen soldiers

AMES, Iowa (AP) - Iowa families of soldiers killed in the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan gathered on the campus of Iowa State University on Friday night for a tribute to their fallen loved ones.

Maj. Gen. Ron Dardis, adjutant general of the Iowa National Guard, said the fallen troops helped advance freedom and liberty.

"Words cannot express the depth of sorrow your family feels - a personal loss that can never be replaced, but will always be appreciated by a grateful state and a grateful nation," Dardis said.

Twenty-four soldiers were honored at the dinner. They included 17 who died in Iraq or Afghanistan, four who lost their lives during training, and three whose families live in Iowa.

29 November Monday
omaha.com

High court age limit supported, poll found

WASHINGTON (AP) - Six in 10 Americans say there should be a mandatory retirement age for U.S. Supreme Court justices, according to an Associated Press poll.

The survey found public support for an idea that has arisen periodically in Congress without ever making headway.

Only one of the nine current justices is younger than 65. Chief Justice William Rehnquist, 80, appointed to the court by President Richard Nixon, has thyroid cancer. In the survey, people were asked whether they could identify what job Rehnquist held, and 59 percent did not know.

29 November Monday2004
omaha.com

Election crisis deepens in Ukraine

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) - Ukraine's outgoing president called on the political opposition to end its four-day blockade of government buildings over the disputed presidential election, saying Sunday that compromise was the only solution to the crisis gripping this former Soviet republic.

But opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko, who claims he was cheated out of victory through fraud in the Nov. 21 presidential runoff, urged his supporters to stay in the streets. Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators have packed downtown Kiev for a week to support Yushchenko's claim that the election was rigged and he was robbed of victory.

29 November Monday
omaha.com

Iran drops demand on nuclear accord

VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Backing down before today's deadline, Iran apparently has given up its demand to exempt some equipment from a deal freezing uranium enrichment programs that can make nuclear weapons, diplomats said Sunday.

Diplomats from the European Union and elsewhere said on condition of anonymity that the International Atomic Energy Agency received a letter from Iran containing a pledge not to test some centrifuges during the freeze it agreed to Nov. 7 during negotiations with Britain, France and Germany on behalf of the European Union.

29 November Monday
omaha.com

ACLU: U.S. opposed privacy for passports

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration opposed security measures for new microchip-equipped passports that privacy advocates contended were needed to prevent identity theft, government snooping or a terror attack, according to State Department documents released Friday.

The passports, scheduled to be issued by the end of 2005, could be read electronically from as far away as 30 feet, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, which obtained the documents under a Freedom of Information Act request.

28 November Sunday
omaha.com

Bomb explodes near U.S. convoy in Baghdad

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - A car bomb exploded early Sunday near a U.S. military convoy on the road leading to Baghdad's airport, Iraqi police said, and a witness said two Humvees were destroyed.

U.S. troops sealed off the area, said Lt. Saad el-Azzawi. He said it was not immediately clear whether the blast caused any casualties.

But Fadhil Jawad, who watched the attack from the roof of his home, said he saw a late-model luxury car overtake the six-vehicle convoy moments before exploding in a ball of fire.

28 November 2004
omaha.com

Bonuses coaxing Marines to re-up

SAN DIEGO - The Marine Corps is offering bonuses of up to $30,000, in some cases tax-free, to persuade enlisted personnel with combat experience and training to re-enlist.

The plan is working, officials said. Just two months into the fiscal year, Marine re-enlistment rates in several key specialties are running 10 percent to 30 percent ahead of last year.

28 November Sunday
omaha.com

Chile torture report in president's hands

SANTIAGO, Chile - The long-awaited report of an official commission investigating torture is finally in the hands of President Ricardo Lagos and is to be published any day now.

28 NOvember 2004
Omaha.com

CIA has history of turbulent transitions

WASHINGTON (AP) - When former CIA Director George Tenet said his farewells at a two-hour ceremony this summer, a deputy noted that 40 percent of the agency's staff had worked for just one chief.

28 November 2004
omaha.com

Colombian official claims rebel group targeted Bush

BOGOTA, Colombia - Marxist rebels tried to organize an assassination attempt against President Bush during his visit to the port city of Cartagena last week, a top Colombian official said Saturday.

28 November 2004
omaha.com

Dalai Lama plans trip to Russia

MOSCOW (AP) - Russia has issued a visa to the Dalai Lama to visit Buddhists in the southern Kalmykia region despite worries of upsetting China, a spokesman for his Tibetan exile government said Saturday.

28 November 2004
omaha.com

Iran hurls wrench in nuke concession

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's foreign minister said Saturday that his country had every right to keep, for research purposes, some centrifuges that could be used to enrich uranium, an indication that a standoff on the country's nuclear program may not be easily resolved.

28 November 2004
omaha.com

NRA likes postelection odds on law to shield gun makers

WASHINGTON - Emboldened by the results of this month's elections, the nation's largest gun lobby will push again for a federal law shielding gun makers and sellers from lawsuits.

28 November 2004
omaha.com

Pakistan defends efforts to secure data on nukes

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - Pakistan on Saturday defended its efforts to halt leaks of nuclear technology amid suggestions that a new CIA report says a renegade scientist provided more help to Iran's nuclear weapons program than previously disclosed.

28 November Sunday
omaha.com

Palestinians will cease security unit

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) - The Palestinian Authority said Saturday that it will disband a small security unit tainted by accusations of abuse, an initial step toward reforming its bloated network of overlapping and competing security forces.

28 November Sunday 2004
omaha.com

Pentagon looking to Africa, East Europe for bases

WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. military is quietly expanding its network of small outposts worldwide to help fight terrorism in the Middle East and Africa, even as it prepares to send home tens of thousands of troops from Cold War bases in Germany and South Korea

28 November Sunday
omaha.com

Saddam trial judges from lower ranks

CLEVELAND (AP) - Some of the Iraqi judges who are being prepared to handle Saddam Hussein's trial haven't handled anything more complicated than a traffic case, says an Ohio law professor who helped train them.

Despite the judges' lack of experience with complex litigation, Case Western Reserve University law professor Michael Scharf said he was impressed by their knowledge

28 November Sunday
omaha.com

Search for bin Laden in Pakistan shifts gears

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) - The Pakistan army said Saturday that it will withdraw hundreds of troops from a tribal region near Afghanistan where Osama bin Laden and his top deputy were believed to be hiding.

The withdrawals from the South Waziristan area come after military operations by thousands of troops against remnants of bin Laden's al-Qaida organization and its supporters in recent months.

28 November Sunday
omaha.com

Sunni call for delay of vote rejected by Shiite majority

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - The Iraqi government Saturday brushed aside Sunni Muslim demands to delay the Jan. 30 election, and a spokesman for the majority Shiite community called the date "nonnegotiable."

28 November Sunday
omaha.com

Surge in detained insurgents strains U.S. facilities in Iraq

ABU GHRAIB, Iraq - More aggressive U.S. military operations in Iraq over the past two months have generated a surge in detainees, nearly doubling the number held by U.S. forces to about 8,300, according to the U.S. general in charge of detention operations.

27 November Saturday
omaha.com

Bush urges deal in Northern Ireland

BELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) - President Bush lent his weight Friday to a final push for reviving power-sharing in Northern Ireland, telling the province's Protestant firebrand to do his best to cut a deal with his longtime Catholic enemies.

27 November Saturday
omaha.com

Congress stumbles on spending bills

WASHINGTON (AP) - Last Saturday, Congress passed a spending bill of more than 3,000 pages - what Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., called a "monstrosity" - to fund most federal programs in 2005. President Bush will sign it into law next month, but only after Congress returns to pass a separate bill to nullify a single sentence, discovered on Page 1,112 of the spending measure, that could have jeopardized taxpayer privacy rights.

27 November Saturday
omaha.com

Freedom fighters offer Ukraine encouragement

VIENNA, Austria (AP) -
When Ukraine descended into postelection chaos this week, the most stirring and vocal pleas for a peaceful resolution came not from Washington but from Warsaw and Prague, where anti-communist revolutions played out in the tumult of 1989.

27 November Saturday
omaha.com

Insurgents kill to halt Iraqi forces

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - U.S. forces uncovered more bodies in the northern city of Mosul on Friday, apparent victims of an intimidation campaign by insurgents against Iraq's fledgling security forces

27 November Saturday
omaha.com

Iran near compromise on freeze of nuclear development

VIENNA, Austria (AP) - Iran and European negotiators reached a tentative compromise to salvage a deal that will commit Tehran to freezing its uranium-enrichment activities, diplomats said Friday.

27 November Saturday
omaha.com

Iraq plans rebuilding program in Fallujah

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraqi officials have announced plans for a huge compensation program to rebuild thousands of homes damaged or destroyed in this month's conquest of Fallujah

27 November Saturday
omaha.com

Iraq vote delay demanded

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Seventeen Iraqi political parties Friday demanded postponement of the Jan. 30 elections for at least six months until the government is capable of securing polling places

27 November Saturday
omaha.com

Nelson on visit to Iraq to gauge troop needs

U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson was in the Middle East this week meeting with troops and leaders about the need for more soldiers in Iraq.

VIENNA, Austria (AP) - The board of the U.N. nuclear agency criticized South Korea on Friday for its secret plutonium and uranium experiments of the past but refrained from tougher options.

27 November Saturday
omaha.com

U.S. to skip conference on land-mine treaty

WASHINGTON (AP) - The United States will not attend a major review conference next week about a 1997 international treaty on land mines because of the cost of participation and disagreement with crucial elements of the pact

27 November Saturday
omaha.com

Ukraine's opposition leader insists on revote

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) - Ukraine's two rivals for power failed in nearly three hours of talks Friday to resolve the stalemate over who will lead the bitterly divided nation

27 November Saturday

Ukraine's parliament agrees vote was invalid

KIEV, Ukraine - Ukraine's parliament, meeting in special session, voted Saturday to declare the Nov. 21 presidential runoff invalid but failed to set a date for a new election, as the country's opposition leader and diplomats in Europe have demanded